Disaster Relief Volunteering in Thailand

I previously participated in a trip abroad to represent my country abroad in the field of art and music, and we got third place in singing. I am a girl who loves to travel and help others, especially since I am a doctor. I am used to caring about the health of others. I strive to volunteer in many fields

As some who needed a year off between high school and college, Carpe Diem was the best fit for me. As part of the Southeast Asia gap year program one of my favorite things was our partners and host families. At Punpun, a greenhouse building and seed saving organization, I’ve never felt more exhausted, but loved. The people there were so kind and caring as well as invested in educational and experiential learning. While there, I met people with similar interests who showed me that I can do exactly what I want to do in life.

If you’re thinking of taking a gap year, this gap year semester is amazing! I really got to develop as a person and had incredible experiences (and food). I also met really kind and down to earth people on this program, made such great memories, and friends! You really get the best of both worlds on this program - rugged nature adventures and city life activities, which I didn’t know about prior. My favorite part of the trip was going to IWP, which was a Buddhist feminist retreat. 10/10, would recommend this trip.

Carpe Diem is 100% an experience I would recommend to others. The mix of volunteer service work with explorative more touristy activities was excellent. A highlight of my trip was our experience at Pun Pun farm in northern Thailand. We spent a day helping build mud bricks for a community member’s house. The work was tiring but extremely rewarding. Tiring but very rewarding sums up the whole of my semester perfectly. I now have built great friendships with my fellow group members and wonderfully relationships with our various host families and organizations.

I am very interested in social causes and I wanted to go abroad and give some of my time to a good cause. Meiji Internships found me a very fulfilling internship in an NGO for children's care. I spend one month to help disadvantaged children to re-enter society and to have access to education. My self from before this internship and my self from now are like two different persons. I am proud of the progress the children did in English during my classes, but I am also proud of myself growing as a Human and becoming more aware of the social problems and how to help people. I had some tough times when I realized that everyone cannot be helped on this Earth (because yes, sometimes the situation is way too complicated and you have to let go to focus on the others), but I also thought that we have to do what we can do to create a better world!

I went to Bangkok in October and November of last year. Now, if I could do it again, I think I would not go in October because of the rain. From what I've heard, the best time to go is December, January, and February, when the weather is dry. But even if it was raining often I enjoyed my experience a lot! Thailand is a gorgeous country, and I had the time of my life. I interned in an NGO which was rehabilitating animals abused by the tourism industry, so I felt I was contributing to a good cause! With my English skills, I helped them raise awareness about animal abuse and promote the association. I gained a lot of experience while saving animals, so it was the perfect internship for me!! Thanks to this adventure, I'm a different person now. I feel stronger and unstoppable!

The best 3 months of my 21 years of life has to be the most to the point way to describe my time in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam with Carpe Diem Education. I am 21 and finishing up my college sociology degree this year. For fall term of my senior year, I wanted to do something different, and experience true hands on learning outside of the traditional classroom lecture setting. This trip to South East Asia truly went above and beyond what I could have ever expected to get out of my time abroad. From week one in Thailand when we each got placed in our own homestay with the most amazing and sweet host moms, to the last week of the trip directing our own student travel through vietnam, each experience I look back on with so much gratiude, knowlege, insight, and a smile. Carpe Diem truly does give you the ability to have such unique and amazing experience, and there is also such a good balance of volunteer work, weeks in homestays, and life off the beaten path, to city days for self care and relaxation. One of my fondest memories from the whole trip that I think about daily was out treck in Thailand. We went on a 3 day treck in Thailand led by 3 amazing locals who know the area and land so well. They led us through dense bamboo forests, that would open to the most amazing views on the hillside of a rice patty field. We stayed the night in village leaders home in a small Lahu village. The full day we were there was my favorite day of the trip. We got up and walked 30 mins through the village and into a rice patty field where to the left of the path was vegetables growing, ahead was a bamboo forest, and down the hill was a stream. We brought 2 chickens, a sack of rice and some eggs. We collected water form the stream, picked vegetables from the field, made a fire with bamboo and cooked the rice, chicken, and eggs in the bamboo logs over the fire. We also learned to carve spoons, chop sticks, bowls, and cups. We ate the meal we made on the beautiful hillside in Thailand. Something about that day was so special, peaceful, and such an amazing learning experience. Carpe Diem allows you to get to experience and connect with others so different from you. Each homestay family I stayed with showed me such kindness, love, and were so welcoming despite language barriers. I have shared so many laughs, hugs, and amazing homecooked meals with my host famalies. Most homestays are with at least two others in the group which is nice and comfortable. A quick trip recap of everything amazing Thailand: A week learning Thai, and homestays with sweet host moms. 10 days volunteering and staying off the beaten path in an amazing Akka village. 4 days of trecking through beautiful Thailand rice/ pineapple field hillside. Some amazing hostels and city days to explore beautiful tempels. A week on an organic permaculture farm learning about sustainability. 5 days of silent meditation with monks learning about buddhism, and mindfullness. A quick trip recap of everything amazing Cambodia: Days in Phnom Phen learning about the genocide, killing fields, and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. Angkor Watt of course. A week on a village off the Mekong river working on a clean water project homestay living. A quick trip recap of everything amazing Vietnam: Days to explore the amazing city of Ho Chi Minh. A week with very funny Tan Tao University students staying in homestays, english teaching at primary schools, and a school for the deaf and disabled, picking pineapples, cooking, and singing a lot of karaoke. 5 days on the beautiful beach in Nha Trang getting suba certified, and tanning on the beach. Days in the city to go to museams and learn about the Vietnam War. And lastly student directed travel. Student directed travel is where we got to plan how to get from Nha Tang to Hanoi which was 800 miles in 1 week. We got to plan where we wanted to go, stay, forms of transportaiton, activites, and had to stay within a budget. It was so amazing. So there you have it, the best 3 months of my life by far! The guides for Carpe Diem are also amazing, and really made the trip flow well. They handled the tough situations with ease and are such wonderful, and positive people. Having 10 students and 2 guides total was also great! All Carpe Diem trips have 15 people or less. I would highly reccomend going abroad with Carpe Diem whether you have just graduated high school or are about to graduate college. I feel refreshed, and have a new motivation, and goals for my life becuase of my time abroad with Carpe Diem Education!!

It was my first time traveling and working as business intern overseas and Thailand seemed like the best place to start with this new adventure. Meiji staff supported and assisted me throughout this journey with all types of support ranging from Visa assistance, accommodation arrangement, local event information and sightseeing trip to Pattaya. The business internship program was focused on tasks doing competitor research, analysis of a new product to be exported to the US, scheduling meetings for my supervisor and also attending these as an assistant. As the company was fairly small (around 10 people) I was given a lot of responsibility for my tasks and also did a few correspondence calls to potential customers by myself. I wanted to achieve the most during my time here and I think I performed well for the two months I was here. The most fun part was my final trip to Chiang Mai I did with a friend. We went hiking on the highest mountain and also did elephant riding. Definitely an unforgettable experience!

I had a wonderful time in Thailand! I was lucky because I was put in charge of my own project. The marketing sector of my company was not too big, so I could essentially help build it up from scratch. When my supervisor learned that I was majoring in Marketing, he asked me to help spread the word of our fantastic company - which I did! I set up an instagram account and started posting information about the hostel. I also came up with a marketing plan and that should help my host company reach plenty more clients by next year. Due to visa regulations, I only stayed for a month, but I am positive that I will return soon. There is so much left to do that I would love to get my hands on. Thank you Meiji for introducing me to my fav company ever!

Go Beyond helped me to have the two best summers of my life. I have created life long friends all over the country. I plan on going back to Go Beyond BVI next year. I also think that the BVI GB is extra special because of how we travel with Action Quest. We get to meet so many more kids that seem to all have similarities. Go Beyond has allowed me to meet people that I would have never come in contact with in my life, if I had not come. I have crated so many friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life. The service opportunities we had, ranged from building swing sets to catching turtles on Anagada. Each day was a new adventure that gave me insight to the lifestyle of the Islands. The trip helped me to see that I love the boat life, too. The British Virgin Islands mean so much to me, after going to Go Beyond these past two years.

I had a time of my life i just want live the real life, compartir my time in this moment with real people. See other culture, expand my mind, compartir saberes, be a friend and connect with people a través the universal awareness.

Love Volunteers responded to this reviewMarch 24, 2019

Hi Rebeca,<br/>Thank-you so much for this enthusiastic review of our programs. We completely agree that volunteering is a fantastic way to connect with people and travel around the world doing humanitarian work.<br/>Thanks again for being a part of what we do here at Love Volunteers.<br/>The Team @ Love Volunteers

Tirana is a safe, interesting city with lots of places to visit and eat. The people are very respectful and friendly and transportation in the city is excellent. Albania is country full of history, with a variety of museums to visit, from history to art. There are a variety of restaurants, cafés and bars where you can eat and relax. The people are very relaxed and polite. Altin was very friendly and kindly provided airport pickup and departure. He also recommended places to visit. Maria is a lovely lady who cares deeply for animals and there is some really crucial work being done at the shelter such as sterilisation, rehabilitation and adoptions. There are too many animals at the shelter and not enough people to ensure all the dogs for example have enough environmental enrichment and exercise but of course I understand this is difficult and differs from country to country and hopefully will begin to change as the attitude improves toward animal welfare in Albania. TIPS: Make sure you go out into the city and sample traditional Albanian food, visit the attractions such as the museums. As for the project don't be afraid to suggest doing certain things, such as taking the dogs in the clinic outside for exercise as well as interacting and spending time with as many of the dogs as you can. Maria is very open and will listen to suggestions. Cleaning the shelter takes up a lot of time, however there are staff employed at the shelter which gives volunteers time for this crucial interaction.

Love Volunteers responded to this reviewMarch 28, 2019

Dear Rhys,<br/>Thank-you for this amazing review of our Animal Welfare program in Tirana, Albania. Your care for animals is so apparent in this account and your contribution on the program was highly valued by the local team.<br/>Reading reviews such as yours provides future volunteers an invaluable insight into volunteering and the crucial role that they can play in areas where help is so desperately needed.<br/>How amazing to be involved in such a rewarding project whilst staying in a city as historical and beautiful as Tirana! Great tips btw!<br/>Thanks again for your contribution to the program for being an amazing Love Volunteer!<br/>From all of us at The Team @ Love Volunteers

On every project I could see the impact that we had on the community around us. The staff made the projects fun and always explained what we were doing with very good instructions.I learned so much on this trip. From sailing to projects, I left the BVI with so much more knowledge compared to when I got there. The environment that we were in allowed me to meet so many new friends.

I think the program ran super smoothly first and foremost. The counselors were fantastic and all of the adventures were exactly what I signed up for. I loved the small group dynamic as well I loved the group bonding experiences because it allowed me to feel more comfortable within the group and engage with others. I was also able to reflect about what I was doing while I was there which was unique and helped me really appreciate what I was doing. The group discussions helped me engage with myself and think about who I was and wanted to do. The best about it was that it had a great balance between service and fun exploring which is unique

The trip was overwhelmingly amazing! Being able to help the community provided such a big impact on my life. Knowing you can actually make a change is a feeling I will forever yearn for again. Very well organized and care and well being of the students is always the primary goal.

It was a rewarding experience to work in Bamenda. It is not easy but worth it. Having worked in a few other charitable places, I found it much harder to work here. But the people still benefit from your help. Cameroon is a poor country when seen from a volunteer's point of view. I have traveled in many parts of the world, including Africa, Latin America and Asia but I was very sad to see the state of Cameroon in the 21st century. People are extremely lovely, especially the ones in English speaking part of Cameroon! It might have something to do with the fact that I don't speak French! Although there was a conflict going on in Bamenda at the time, it does not affect you as far as you stay away from the no-go regions. Be prepared for a little corruption (I had to pay a small bribe at the airport for bringing in my own local anaesthetic cartridges). There are no fast food chains or anything similar in Bamenda. I found one local restaurant in Douala which had similar standards as a standard western outlet. Otherwise most other eateries are not the cleanest. Home cooked food at my homestay was good. The project I worked on was well managed and organised. I had some help from the Cameroonian counterparts, but not a lot till I arrived there. Once I arrived and people realized how serious I was about helping and then things went smoothly. My host cooked some lovely meals for me every day. The meals are simple but delicious. don't expect sweets/ puddings everyday. Usually you will eat only twice a day. The homestay is very safe. The toilet and bathroom is basic but acceptable. Your host will have a means of transport (motor bike) and he will take you around anywhere you need to go. My host was extremely helpful and went out of his way to help me in achieving my goals. TIPS: 1) Don't be put off by the news. Your in-country organisers will take good care of you and make sure you are safe. 2) Be prepared for serious poverty, especially when it comes to resources, such as medical consumables, stationary etc. If possible, bring your own supplies. 3) The town of Bamenda has very few roads and thus it gets very dusty. Take wet wipes with you! 4) some of the standards of cross infection in the hospitals might not be up to scratch. Put your foot down and demand better standards (you might have to carry a few consumables yourself, such as gloves, masks and hand sprays).

Love Volunteers responded to this reviewJanuary 30, 2019

Dear Sagar,<br/><br/>We can't thank-you enough for your contribution as a qualified dentist on the medical program in Cameroon. As you yourself know well it's a challenge getting things done in Africa and it's a testament to your commitment that you were able to achieve so much during your time in Bamenda.<br/><br/>This review is hugely valuable in letting potential volunteers know about the difficulties and the rewards of volunteering in Cameroon and we appreciate the time you have taken to share your experiences and your continued support of upcoming volunteers.<br/><br/>Thanks again and we wish you all the very best for your dental career and hope to have you join us again in the future if you are able.<br/>The Team @ Love Volunteers

The experience was good. I felt that we enhanced the program they are already running, especially for younger volunteers. Sr Lanka is a beautiful country. The people are friendly and welcoming. The staff were organised and easy to speak with. They are well suited to the position. TIPS: Have some ideas, songs and activities organised for the age group. If you can take some English picture books as they have very few and this would enhance the children’s learning.

Love Volunteers responded to this reviewJanuary 28, 2019

Hi Karen,<br/>Thanks so much to you and your daughter for the wonderful contribution you both made on our Education Support program in Badulla, Sri Lanka. You absolutely enhanced the lives of the children, both through your teaching and the thrill that having you with them brought to their daily lives.<br/>Thanks also for taking the time to provide this feedback and advice to future volunteers - much appreciated!<br/>All the very best to you both. The Team @ Love Volunteers

It was my first-time volunteering abroad and by myself. I have already been involved in several humanitarian projects, but this was a brand-new experience. Volunteering in a developing country, 10 000 km from my home taught me a lot of new things. Helping people in need while I am myself losing my bearings in a new environment made me more mature and allowed me to discover myself more. Working with children also taught me to be patient. South Africa is a beautiful country with amazing landscapes and places to see. Local people were very nice. I was also struck by the inequalities in South Africa and the water shortage situation there at the time. TIPS: Rent a car if you have a driver's licence. Bring warm clothes during winter. Stay open minded and be patient.

Love Volunteers responded to this reviewJanuary 28, 2019

Dear Noëmie,<br/>Volunteering abroad is a challenging and rewarding experience and you have summed up the combination wonderfully in your review. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your time in beautiful Cape Town and want to thank-you for your time and effort on the Social Welfare program that tackles the inequalities you mention in this diverse city.<br/>We wish you all the best for your future travels and hope to have you join us again.<br/>The Team @ Love Volunteers<br/>

My general impression is that I loved the volunteer program. South Africa is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It is rich in culture, food, and wildlife. I am very content with my project and staff. Everyone was generous and willing to teach. The staff really made my volunteering experience enjoyable. My tips for the other volunteers is to come with an open mind and to be open to new experiences.

Love Volunteers responded to this reviewJanuary 28, 2019

Hi Jazmin,<br/>We couldn't have put it better ourselves: an open mind and flexible attitude is absolutely what make a great volunteer! Thanks for your commitment to the Medical Internship program in Cape Town, South Africa and for taking the time to share your experience.<br/>The Team @ Love Volunteers<br/>

This trip gave me the opportunity to learn new things, see new places, and meet new people that I wouldn’t have other wise. The service projects brought us face to face with some of the most dire problems in these communities. I got to know the locals very well through them. It gave me the opportunity to itch my travel bug, do meaningful work, and make incredible new relationships.